Thermally insulated bottle and method of assembly thereof

ABSTRACT

A thermal insulated bottle (10) includes an outer container (12) having an open end (16) and an inner cup (18) which is at least partially received and spaced apart from the outer container ( 12 ) . The inner cup ( 18 ) and outer container (12) engage each other, preferably by a shoulder (24) at the open end (16) of the outer container (12) which encloses the space between the inner cup (18) and the outer container (12) to form a chamber (26). Within the chamber (26), a sleeve (28) of freezable fluid (30) is positioned around the inner cup (18). A thermal insulating material (32) occupies the rest of the chamber (26) between the sleeve (28) and the outer container (12).

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 07/919,231, filedJul. 27, 1992 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,835.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a thermally insulated bottle. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a virtually unbreakable,thermally insulated bottle which may be used to store and chill fluids.Specifically, the invention relates to an integrally constructed,double-walled bottle having an annular space between inner and outerwalls. A sleeve of refreezable material is positioned in the annularspace in contact with and around the inner wall for chilling fluids, anda layer of rigid thermal insulation is foamed in place in the annularspace to fill the same and create the integral construction.

BACKGROUND ART

It is generally desirable to store beverages such as soft drinks and thelike in a refrigerated area so that, when ready to be consumed, thebeverages are in a chilled state. For this reason, storage containerssuch as refrigerators, ice boxes, ice chests and various beveragecontainer holders have evolved. However, these storage containersrequire that the beverage be stored in a can or bottle, the refrigeratedcontainers being adapted to chill both the beverage and the can orbottle.

In order to carry and store just the beverage, thermally insulatedbottles, such as the thermos vacuum bottle, were introduced. Thesethermally insulated bottles generally include a vacuum flask made fromglass or steel placed within an outer container. The vacuum flask mayalso be surrounded by an insulating material to further retain thetemperature of the fluid within the flask. Although the vacuum flasks ofthe conventional insulated bottles maintain the temperature of the fluidtherein very well, they are not adapted to chill the fluids containedtherein. Furthermore, the glass form of the bottle is susceptible tobeing broken. On the other hand, while the steel form of the vacuumbottle is unbreakable, it is very expensive to manufacture.

Consequently, the polyurethane insulated plastic bottle was developed.This bottle is both unbreakable and inexpensive to manufacture. Yet,because the plastic bottle does not exhibit superior temperatureretention properties, it has not completely replaced the vacuum bottle.Moreover, the polyurethane insulated plastic bottle, like the vacuumbottle, only attempts to maintain the temperature of the fluidscontained therein rather than to actually chill the same.

As a result, several products have been developed which will chill thefluids as well as maintain the chilled condition thereof. For example,U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,914 is directed toward a beverage cooler which isformed of sponge rubber and adapted to hold and cool a beveragecontainer. In order to cool the beverage, a plurality of polyethylenereceptacles filled with gel refrigerant are spaced around the side wallof the container and encapsulated therein. However, this device mustalways be used with a container to store the fluids to be cooled, andwhile it is expandable for the reception of the beverage container, itdoes not provide for the expansion of the gel refrigerant within thereceptacles.

Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,226 provides a device for chilling andmaintaining the chilled condition of a fluid by including a sleeve ofgel refrigerant disposed within the insulated beverage can holder. Thesleeve acts as the inside wall of the beverage can holder and contactsthe separable container in which the fluid is stored.

The need therefore exists for an inexpensive, unbreakable, thermallyinsulated bottle of unitary construction which can be used to carry andstore fluids and chill them for consumption purposes.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide anunbreakable, thermally insulated bottle which permits superiortemperature retention properties of a fluid contained therein.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a thermallyinsulated bottle, as above, which is relatively inexpensive tomanufacture.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a thermallyinsulated bottle, as above, which is adapted for intensively chillingand maintaining the chilled condition of the fluid therein before andduring consumption.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide athermally insulated bottle, as above, which combines a sleeve ofrefreezable material and polyurethane foam to create and maintain thechilled condition of the fluid.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method formanufacturing an inexpensive, unbreakable, thermally insulated bottlewhich may be used to store and carry fluids.

These and other objects of the present invention, as well as theadvantages thereof over existing prior art forms, which shall becomeapparent from the description which follows, are accomplished by themeans hereinafter described and claimed.

In general, the present invention provides an apparatus for storing andchilling a fluid which includes an outer container open at one end andan inner cup open at one end for receiving the fluid. The inner cup isat least partially received by and spaced apart from the outercontainer, and means are provided to close the space between the innercup and the outer container to form a chamber. A sleeve is positionedaround the inner cup within the chamber and carries a freezable fluid. Athermal insulating material is disposed between the outer container andthe sleeve within the chamber.

The fluid chilling apparatus is assembled by filling the sleeve with thefreezable liquid and then positioning the sleeve over the outside of theinner cup. The inner cup is then positioned at least partially withinthe outer container forming a chamber therebetween. A thermal insulatingmaterial is placed in the chamber and foamed and cured therein.

A preferred thermally insulated bottle incorporating the concepts of thepresent invention is shown by way of example in the accompanyingdrawings without attempting to show all the various forms andmodifications in which the invention might be embodied, the inventionbeing measured by the appended claims and not by the details of thespecification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a thermally insulated bottle accordingto the concepts of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the bottle taken substantially along line2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the bottle taken substantially along line3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an arcuate fragmentary sectional view taken substantiallyalong line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an alternative embodiment of the arcuate fragmentary sectionalview taken substantially along line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

One representative form of a thermally insulated bottle according to theconcepts of the present invention is generally indicated by the numeral10, and as best shown in FIG. 2, includes an outer container 12 having aclosed bottom 14 and an open upper end 16. An inner cup 18 having aclosedlower end 20 and an open upper end 22 is at least partiallyreceived by andspaced apart from outer container 12. A shoulder 24extends outwardly from inner cup 18 near its open upper end 22 toenclose and form a chamber 26 between inner cup 18 and outer container12.

A sleeve 28 having a freezable fluid 30 encased therein is positionedaround inner cup 18 within chamber 26. Sleeve 28 is preferably made fromastretchable polymer fabric so as to allow for expansion of freezablefluid 30 when it solidifies. A thermal insulating material 32, such aspolyurethane foam, is also disposed within chamber 26 and occupies therest of the space in chamber 26 between sleeve 28 and outer container12.

Preferably, an inner cap 34 may be employed to close open upper end 22of inner cup 18. Cap 34 can be fitted onto inner cup 18 by any meansknown inthe art, but it is preferable that cap 34 have inwardly directedthreads 36which cooperate with complementary external threads 38 locatedaround the periphery of open end 22 of inner cup 18.

A larger, outer cap 40 is also preferably used to close open upper end16 of outer container 12 and thereby enclose the inner cup 18. While cap40 may function by engaging outer container 12 itself, it is preferablethat cap 40 engage shoulder 24 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Like cap 34 ofinner cup 18, cap 40 can be received onto shoulder 24 by any means knownin the art. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, cap 40 has inwardlydirected threads 42 that cooperate with complementary external threads44 located on a downwardly extending portion 46 of shoulder 24.

Still referring to FIG. 2, shoulder 24 also includes an extension 48which separates outer container 12 from cap 40, extension 48 being theonly portion associated with inner cup 18 which is not enclosed by outercontainer 12 and cap 40 in the preferred embodiment. Furthermore, a snappiece 50 extends downwardly from extension 48 to attach shoulder 24 toouter container 12.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, sleeve 28 includes a plurality of sachets orpockets 52 defined by a plurality of parallel seams 54 which intersectan edge seam 56 and extend short of an opposite edge seam 58. As such, amanifold-type filling passage 60 is formed to connect the plurality ofsachets 52 which are filled with freezable fluid 30 poured into sleeve28 through filler port 62. The seams are heat sealed together as iscommonly known in the art.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, sleeve 28 may be fabricated from twoseparate pouches 72 and 74. Each pouch 72, 74 is tacked in a manner soas to generally define sachets similar to those described hereinabove.Specifically, pouches 72 and 74 are tacked at a plurality of predefinedpoints 76 along the general linear axis of the edges of each sachet. Inthe embodiment of FIG. 5, there are six points 76, three along eachedge. A linear seam 78 is then formed preferably between the upper twopoints 76of the edges of the sachet so as to more precisely define eachsachet. Notably, the bottom portion of pouches 72 and 74 remains open.After each pouch 72, 74 is formed, sleeve 28 is formed by heat sealingthe edge seamsof pouches 72, 74 together. Pouches 72 and 74 may then befilled with freezable, fluid 30 which is poured through filler ports 82and 84, respectively.

Any freezable fluid commonly known in the art can be employed in thepresent invention without departing from the scope thereof. Preferably,a water-based freezable gel solution such as BLUE ICE is used. BLUE ICEis atrademark of Rubbermaid Incorporated of Wooster, Ohio, and iscommercially known as a non-toxic refreezable gel solution which isoften used to replace ice in coolers and ice chests.

Assembly of bottle 10 begins by pouring freezable fluid 30 into sleeve28. For the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, freezable fluid 30 first fillsthe sachet 52 proximate to filler 62 until it is full. It will beappreciated that upon filling the first sachet, freezable fluid willthen pass throughfilling passage 60 and into the sachet 52 adjacent tothe first. Then, oncethose sachets are filled, freezable fluid 30 willpass through filling passage 60 again and successively into each of theempty sachets 52 until all of the sachets 52 have been filled withfreezable fluid 30. Filler port 62 is sealed by any means known in theart to make edge seam 58 continuous similar to edge seam 56.

In the alternative embodiment of FIG. 5, freezable fluid 30 fillspouches 72 and 74 of sleeve 28 through filler ports 82 and 84respectively. It will be appreciated that although pouches 72 and 74 maybe filled at different rates and times, each pouch fills each sachetsimultaneously because of the open bottom portion of each sachet. Fillerports 82 and 84 may be sealed by any means known in the art as describedhereinabove for filler port 62.

Sleeve 28 can then be slidably received onto and positioned around innercup 18. Inasmuch as inner cup 18 may already include shoulder 24, itwill be appreciated that sleeve 28 may be slid over inner cup 18 fromits closed end 20. However, it should be understood that sleeve 28 couldbe slidably received onto inner cup 18 from open end 22 in embodimentswhere shoulder 24 is not integrally formed as part of inner cup 18.

Sleeve 28 may be retained around inner cup 18 by any method commonlyused in the art. One method is to provide inner cup 18 with a taperedconfiguration so that it is wider at its open end 22 than at its closedend 20. Alternatively, sleeve 28 may be positioned against shoulder 24at open end 22 of inner cup 18 and adhered at the lower end thereof asby utilizing, for example, an adhesive tape 64 (FIG. 2).

Thermal insulating material 32, such as uncured "foamed-in-place"polyurethane, can then be poured in outer container 12. Inner cup 18with sleeve 28 positioned therearound can then be placed into outercontainer 12 such that snap piece 50 is secured to open end 16 of outercontainer 12to enclose the space between inner cup 18 and outercontainer 12 to form chamber 26. Alternatively, cup 18 may be invertedand thermal insulating material 32 may be poured into the cavity formedbetween inner cup 18 and downwardly extending portion 46 of shoulder 24.In either instance, thermal insulating material 32 will be allowed toexpand and cure after inner cup 18 and outer container 12 are engaged atshoulder 24. There should be an amount of insulating material sufficientto fill the entire chamber 26 between outer container 12 and sleeve 28upon expansion and curing. Any excess insulating material 32 may bereleased through a vent hole 66 in base 14 of outer container 12. Uponproper curing of the insulating material, vent hole 66 may be plugged asis commonly known in the art.

With reference to FIG. 3, it is noted that, when positioned around innercup 18, a plurality of axially extending air spaces 68 are formedbetween sleeve 28 and inner cup 18. Specifically, air spaces 68 areformed at the location of seams 54 of sleeve 28. These axially extendingair spaces 68 remain during and after the foaming and curing of thermalinsulating material 32. Thus, when bottle 10 is placed in a refrigeratedarea so as to permit freezable fluid 30 to solidify, expansion of sleeve28 in accordance therewith is afforded by the compression of air spaces68 thereby positioning the frozen fluid 30 in close proximity to theentire periphery of cup 18 and the fluid it may carry.

Thus, the present invention is unique in that bottle 10 is a double-wallunitary structure having spaced inner and outer walls defined by innercup18 and outer container 12, respectively. Thermal insulating material32 andan expandable pouch, such as sleeve 28, having freezable fluid 30encased therein generally occupy the space between the two walls.Thermal insulating material 32 may be in contact with the outer wall andsleeve 28contacts the inner wall in a manner such that at least one airspace 68 is formed. The air space 68 is compressed when the freezablefluid solidifiesand expands the pouch or sleeve 28.

It should therefore be evident that the resultant bottle 10 can chillthe contents retained therein as well as maintain the chilled conditionsthereof. Bottle 10 has been adapted to be placed in a refrigerated area,preferably without caps 34 and 40 in place, so that the freezable fluidwithin sleeve 28 can be solidified. Once freezable fluid 30 is frozen,anybeverage or other fluid may be poured into an inner chamber 70defined by inner cup 18 to be maintained chilled until consumption. Thefreezable fluid acts similar to and may take the place of ice, but isnot deposited within the beverage or other fluid to be chilled. Thus,the contents in bottle 10 are not diluted or contaminated. Furthermore,sleeve 28 is surrounded by thermal insulating material 32 so as toprevent condensationon the outside of bottle 10.

Thus it should be evident that the bottle of the present invention ishighly effective in storing, chilling and maintaining the chilledconditions of fluids retained therein. The invention is particularlysuited for storing and chilling beverages, but is not necessarilylimited thereto.

Moreover, it should also be appreciated that bottle 10 may beconstructed from any material known in the art. Preferably, outercontainer 12, inner cup 18 and shoulder 24 are all made from athermoplastic material. However, other materials known in the art may beemployed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Based upon the foregoing disclosure, it should now be apparent that thebottle described herein will accomplish the objects set forthhereinabove and otherwise constitutes an advantageous contribution tothe art. Thus, the scope of the invention shall include allmodifications and variations that may fall within the scope of theattached claims.

I claim:
 1. A method for assembling a bottle for containing a fluidcomprising the steps of forming a sleeve with at least one edge seam anda plurality of seams extending short of the edge seam, filling thesleeve with a freezable fluid, positioning the sleeve around an innercup, forming a chamber between the inner cup and an outer container bypositioning the inner cup within the outer container, and filling thechamber with a thermal insulating material by permitting the material tofoam and cure therein.
 2. A method according to claim 1, furthercomprising the step of closing the top of the inner cup and the outercontainer.
 3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the stepof retaining the sleeve on the inner cup.
 4. A method according to claim1, further comprising the steps of providing a vent hole through theouter container to release any excess thermal insulating material duringsaid step of filling the chamber, and thereafter plugging the vent hole.5. A method for assembling a bottle for containing a fluid comprisingthe steps of filling a sleeve having a plurality of sachets withfreezable fluid by filling a first sachet within the sleeve with thefreezable fluid until full, and then continuing to fill the sleeve suchthat the freezable fluid overflows the first sachet, passing through afill passage in the sleeve and into adjacent sachets until all of thesachets have been filled with a predetermined amount of freezable fluid,positioning the sleeve around an inner cup, forming a chamber betweenthe inner cup and an outer container by positioning the inner cup withinthe outer container, and filling the chamber with a thermal insulatingmaterial by permitting the material to foam and cure therein.